Ask Scarlett: Can cheetahs really run 70 miles an hour?

Ranger Rick, May, 1998

Someone came up with that speed many years ago. But later, scientists did some checking. They decided that the speed had been figured wrong. But no one came up with a new figure, so the wrong speed stuck for a long time.

Finally, another scientist tried to figure out a cheetah's top speed again. Here's how he did it: First he got a hungry cheetah interested in a hunk of meat. Then he tossed the meat into his truck and drove across the African plain. The cheetah chased the truck as fast as it could, while the scientist checked its speed. He did this three separate times and came up with an aver- age of 64 miles (102 km) per hour.

It's true that another cheetah may run a bit faster or slower. But scientists are pretty sure this speed is a good measurement of how fast a cheetah can go. It's not as fast as people first thought. But it still makes these cats the fastest runners on Earth!